The nature of the ban on arms within Rome\'s pomeri

[Tarbicus]

Lictors.

Only those acting for dictators, who had the power of capital punishment within the pomerium. Dictators were an occasional extreme, not the norm by any measure.

Lictors under normal circumstances, acting for a consul, magister equitum or praetor, had to remove the axes from the fasces in order to enter the pomerium.